Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
More
  • "She knew what she'd created": Back to Black
  • Trower's '80s supergroup
  • Music theory tricks
  • Stage Tour game
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Tech
  2. Software & Apps
  3. Plugins

VST/AU plugin instrument/effect round-up: Week 68

News
By Ben Rogerson
Published 21 August 2013

More tools to put in your DAW's locker

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The latest releases

The latest releases

We've got synth and piano instruments for you this week, alongside a drum machine, a sampler with a difference and a couple of effects.

Also make sure you check out these regularly updated features:

The 39 best VST plug-in synths in the world today

The 14 best VST plug-in drum machines in the world today

If you've got a new PC or Mac plug-in, make sure you let us know about it by emailing musicradar.pressreleases@futurenet.com with all the details.

NEXT: Psychic Modulation Construct

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
Psychic Modulation Construct

Psychic Modulation Construct

Layering is the name of the game with this drum machine, which is based on a “sound design workflow”. Powered by both synthesis and samples, you can use Transient, Oscillator and Ambience layers to build up each sound, and you can use up to eight drum modules.

Buy or download demo of Psychic Modulation Construct

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
Adam Monroe Music Honky Tonk Piano

Adam Monroe Music Honky Tonk Piano

Fancy bashing out a bit of ragtime? This sample-based instrument is designed to give you the appropriate sound, which can be tweaked using reverb, chorus, delay and lo-fi effects. A standalone, cross-platform Kontakt library is also included in the price.

Buy Adam Monroe Music Honky Tonk Piano

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
Manx XS-3

Manx XS-3

This replacement for the XS-2 emulates DCO technology from the '80s. There are two oscillators, three 6-stage envelope generators and a filter section that can be switched between mono and polyphonic. The synth is 8-note polyphonic.

Buy or download demo of Manx XS-3

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
Cerberus Audio Epoch Dynamic Comb Filter

Cerberus Audio Epoch Dynamic Comb Filter

Designed as an alternative to traditional EQs and compressors, Epoch promises “musically reactive” equalisation and compression that offers a “wider range of tonal colour” than its rivals. Notable elements of the central comb filter section include a “360 degree phase rotator” and a “fractional delay”.

Buy or download demo of Cerberus Audio Epoch Dynamic Comb Filter

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
LVC-Audio Transector

LVC-Audio Transector

A transient design plugin that can be used to boost the initial attack of certain instruments (to add more crack to a snare or kick, for example) and to simultaneously decay portions of audio. It's highly customisable, offering three independent transient bands and extreme settings that you can get creative with.

Buy or download demo of LVC-Audio Transector

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
Inear Display Tkapik

Inear Display Tkapik

It has a strange name and isn't much to look at, but Tkapik is actually an amplitude controlled generative sampler plugin. Or, to put it another way, once you've loaded it onto a track and loaded a sample into it, this will be triggered with random settings every time an amplitude peak is detected in the input signal.

Buy or download demo of Inear Display Tkapik

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
Dopekitz.com SubStation SubBass Workstation

Dopekitz.com SubStation SubBass Workstation

A collection of more than 50 sub and synth bass patches that are said to be suitable for use in hip-hop, R&B and dubstep. The idea is that they're ready to rattle your speakers right out of the box without any further processing. The control set is minimal, though you do get an ADSR envelope and a Glide knob.

Buy or download demo of Dopekitz.com SubStation SubBass Workstation

Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson
Social Links Navigation
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

Read more
Steinberg Classics Collection
Plugins Steinberg marks 30 years of VST with the Classics Collection, which includes the first VST synth
 
 
Reason Free
Plugins Reason Free puts 15 classic Reason devices in one free plugin that you can use in your existing DAW
 
 
boss
Samples Are you bored of the TR-808? Explore this treasure trove of free obscure drum machine samples
 
 
Native Instruments Komplete 26
Soft Synths “We know you want it, but do you really (really) need it?”: Native Instruments Komplete 26 review
 
 
ujam
Tech UJAM's Retrocraft is an all-in-one multi-effects plugin for lo-fi vintage vibes
 
 
OpenDAW
Digital Audio Workstation Who needs Logic or Ableton Live when free browser-based DAWs are becoming this good?
 
 
Latest in Plugins
autotune
Tech "Since 1997, the complaint about pitch correction has been the same: it takes the singer out of the singing. That's the problem DVA was built to solve": Antares launches AutoTune Advanced with new DVA vibrato engine
 
 
autotune
Tech Antares AutoTune Advanced makes the trade-off between pitch-perfect vocals and natural vibrato a thing of the past
 
 
An Arturia MiniFreak synthesizer on a table
Hybrid Synths One of our favourite synths of recent years now lets you upload your own sounds
 
 
zplane
Tech Zplane's Timbre is a formant-shifting plugin with a few tricks up its sleeve
 
 
lunacy
Tech Lunacy launches Nova platform with five free virtual instruments – but bigger things are on the way
 
 
topline
Tech Universal Audio's Topline Vocal Tune is now available for Apollo and UAD hardware
 
 
Latest in News
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - MAY 05:  Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood pose backstage during the exclusive launch event of The Rolling Stones new album “Foreign Tongues” at Weylin on May 5, 2026 in Brooklyn, NY. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for UMG)
Artists Andrew Watt says he kept thing loose when he produced the Stones, but also added a surprising synth sub-bass
 
 
Brian May
Guitarists “It blew me away so badly”: Brian May says that hearing Jimi Hendrix made him question whether he should be a guitar player
 
 
Prodigy
Samples Want to sound like The Prodigy? Download this free pack of Prodigy-style samples
 
 
(EDITORS NOTE: A special effects camera filter was used for this image.) Olivia Rodrigo at Daisy Chain Fields Festival 2026 held at Great Park on August 29, 2026 in Irvine, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
Artists Olivia Rodrigo on how being a "novice" guitarist led to a happy accident when she was writing The Cure
 
 
Jackso Pro Series Phil Collen PC1-E
Artists Phil Collen on why you can play anything on his new Jackson, and even nail those Hysteria tones
 
 
Oasis Dont' Look Back in Anger poster crop
Gigs & Festivals “Please remain vigilant”: Oasis warn against scammers in the forthcoming Live 27 ticketing bunfight
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...